Transferring apparatus



July 19, 1960 R 1 ETAL' TRANSFERRING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledFeb. 10. 1958 FIG. 4

July 19, 1960 c. KROLL ETAL 2,945,604

' TRANSFERRING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 10, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORSCOI/VEZ/US AQOAA 021M 01.1001

' ATTORNEVS TRANSFERRING APPARATUS Cornelius Kroll, Houston, Tex., andNorman M. Kroll,

New York, N.Y., assignors to Speed Park, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., acorporation of New York Filed Feb. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 714,243

Claims. (Cl. 214-161) This invention relates to the art of transferringapparatus and more particularly to apparatus for parking automobiles.

As conducive to an understanding of the invention, it is noted thatwhere in conventional multi-story garages, ramps are required to movethe automobiles from floor to hour for the parking operation, the numberof floors is limited due to the time involved for an attendant to drivethe automobile up and down the ramps from floor to floor. Furthermore,the ramps require heavy supporting structure which adds to the cost ofthe garage.

Where a large number of attendants is required in a busy garage to parkthe automobiles left by customers and to secure the automobiles for thecustomers, the cost of operation of the garage is relatively high andsuch cost is enhanced when the attendants must maneuver the automobileson the floors of the garage in order to park and remove the same, due tothe time required for this operation.

In addition to the foregoing, in a busy garage, as the number ofpersonnel for practical purposes, may not be sufiicient to handle peakperiod loads and also due to the limitations in the number ofautomobiles that can be accommodated by conventional elevators or rampsin a given period, pile up may occur of waiting automobiles to be parkedand of customers waiting for their parked cars.

Such pile up may cause interference with trafiic in the adjacent streetand annoyance to the customers.

Where automobiles are parked in vertically aligned stalls or onplatforms by means of an elevator having a conveyor on which the vehicleis initially positioned and which elevator is moved vertically intosubstantial alignment with such stalls so that the conveyor may thereonbe moved transversely into the stall to deposit the automobile thereinand where the supporting structure for the stall necessitates heavybeams that require bulky supports that occupy considerable verticalspace, the overall height of the installation will be increased withresultant increase in cost thereof.

Where the conveyor must be moved transversely a considerable distance inorder that the automobile be properly positioned in the stall and thedrive means to accomplish such movement is movable a relatively greatdistance to accomplish such movement of the conveyor, the overall systemwill require considerable space with added cost.

It is accordingly among the objects of the invention to provide aninstallation of the above type, having a plurality of vertically alignedstalls into which vehicles may respectively be positioned and removed,that is relatively simple in construction and dependable in operation,which by a relatively simple and compact drive means will pro: videsubstantial transverse movement of an automobile parked on a conveyorinto any of the stalls positioned transversely of the original positionof the conveyor so that a relatively large number of vehicles may beaccommodated in a minimum of space and will, with the use of arelatively simple control system, provide automatic and rapid parking ofautomobiles without need foran attendant in the vehicle or the need formanual choking of the vehicle or locking of its brakes and without theneed for jacks or the like to raise the weight of the automobile off itsWheels or the need for ramps and heavy floors, ceilings and walls foundin conventional garage structures and which will also provide automaticand rapid return of parked automobiles to the customers.

Another object is to provide an installation of the above type whichpermits vehicles to be parked into and removed from stalls on eitherside of a central position.

According. to one aspect of the invention, a plurality of verticallyaligned stalls are provided in a building structure, each having aplurality of parallel troughs and crests which may be formed by spacedparallel beams extending inwardly from the supporting wall of thebuilding and desirably supported at their inner ends by across beamwhich in turn may be supported by the structural vertical columns orbeams of the frame of the building in -,which the stalls are installed.Associated with the stalls is a shaft in which a vertically movableelevator is positioned, the elevator mounting a conveyor movable towardand away from the stalls. The conveyor may comprise a plurality ofspaced parallel elongated members, each having a primary member, all ofwhich are joined together and movable in unison toward and away from thestalls and a secondary member, each having an associated drive means.The drive means are connected sothat upon movement of the primarymembers in unison, the secondary members will be individually andsimultaneously moved outwardly therefrom and respectively positioned inthe troughs between the beams of the stalls, the secondary membersentering the troughs above the cross beam connected to the beams of thestall.

This application is a continuation-in-part of co pend- 7applicationSerial No. 636,995, filed January 29,

In the accompanying drawings, in which are shown one or more of variouspossible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

'Fig. 1 is a plan view of the installation with parts broken away, 7 V

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2, V

4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 5 is a view withparts broken away taken along l1ne 5-5 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is a detail view on a larger scale similar to Fig. 5 showing thedrive leverand associated structure,

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of a portion of the drive mechanism,

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 7, 1

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the locking ring mem- -ber,

Fig. '11 is a perspective view of the worm gear,

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view of the crank bar of Fig. 7 inanother position,

Fig. l3 is a transverse sectional view of the conveyor beam,

Fig. 14 is an end view of the elevator with parts broken away accordingto another embodiment of the invention, and

Fig. is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the bottom-most stallof the embodiment of Fig. 14.

Referring now to the drawings, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the parkinginstallation comprises a building structure having opposed vertical sidewalls 11 and supporting columns 12 located inwardly of said side wallsand spaced by a distance slightly greater than the length of aconventional automobile 13, the space between each pair of columns 12defining a stall. Extending laterally inward from each of the side walls11 are vertically spaced horizontal shelves 14 transversely aligned asshown, with the inner end of each of said shelves 14 having a horizontalstructural beam 15 supported by the columns 12.

Positioned on each of the shelves 13 and extending at right angles tothe side walls 11 are a plurality of beams 16, each illustrativelyL-shaped in cross section as shown in Fig. 3, having the lower edge ofits vertical leg 17 affixed to the shelf 14, the horizontal legs 18 ofthe beams 16 being spaced from each other as shown in Fig. 1.

The beams 16 which extend the width of the shelves define troughs andcrests and each of the shelves is of suflicient width to support thewheels of the automobile 13 to be positioned thereon in the mannerhereinafter to be described.

The vertical space 19 between the aligned columns of shelves 14 definesan elevator shaft which may have a plurality of pairs of transverselyaligned vertical guide rails 22 as shown in Fig. 2, each pair to guidean elevator 23 for vertical movement.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the elevator 23 comprises a base structure 24which may include two parallel spaced beams 25 joined at theirrespective ends by cross beams 26 to form a rigid rectangular unit.Secured to each of the cross beams 26 at the ends thereof is the base ofan A frame 27, the top of which is guided by the vertical rails 22 whichalso guide the base structure 24, the guiding means being suitablerollers (not shown) connected to the upper ends 28 of the A frame andthe cross beams 26 of the base member, which rollers ride along thevertical rails 22. Through suitable cables (not shown) connected to theupper end of the A frame, the elevator may beraised and lowered asdesired.

Secured to each of the beams 25 inwardly of each of the ends thereof andrising therefrom is a supporting member 31 (Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5), and aU-shaped channel beam 32 which extends substantially the width of theelevator shaft 19 is secured to each pair of transversely alignedmembers 31 as by bolts 33.

Mounted on the upper end 34 of each of the beams 32 is a plurality ofsupports 35, illustratively three in number, in the embodiment shown,one of said supports being located in the center of each of the beams32, and the other two of said supports being at the respective ends ofeach of said beams. Extending transversely through each of the supportsis a stud shaft 36 to the inner end of which is secured a flanged roller37 as is clearly shown in Fig. 4.

Mounted on the rollers 37 is a conveyor 38 which is movable at rightangles to the beams 25. As shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 13, the conveyor 38comprises a beam 39 that is U-shaped in cross section having a top wall41 and parallel side walls 42, said top wall 41 having a plurality ofspaced parallel slots 46 (Fig. 4) therethrough transversely of thelength thereof.

Secured to each of the ends 47 of beam 39 as by welding, is a plate 48that extends slightly above the top surface of the beam 39. Secured asby welding, as at 49 to the upper portion of each of the end plates 48is the side Wall 51 of a U-shaped channel beam 52, the top and bottomwalls 53, 54 of said beam 52 straddling the rollers 37 with the top wall53 riding on said rollers 37 as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

Mounted on the beam 39 and extending at right angles thereto is aplurality of parallel spaced telescoping or elon- 3 gating units 57which form part of the conveyor and which support the wheels of theautomobile 13.

Each of the units 57 comprises a primary member 58 (Fig. 4),illustratively a U-shaped beam of length substantially equal to thelength of the beam 52, and of width less than the space between adjacentlegs 18 of beams 16 of the stalls so that the members 58 may fittherebetween in the manner hereinafter described. To mount the primarymembers 58, each of the slots 46 has extending therethrough a pair ofspaced parallel web plates 1 which are secured as by welding as at 62 tothe top surface 41 of beam 39 and extends above the latter as at 63.Each pair of web plates 61 straddles an associated primary member 58which is secured at its midpoint to the protruding portions 63 of eachpair of web plates as by welding at 64, the cross piece 65 at the lowerend of each of the primary members extending below the top surface 41 ofthe beam 39 as is shown in Fig. 4.

Extending laterally inward from the side wall 66 of each of the primarymembers 58 is a plurality of stud shafts 67, illustratively three innumber, one of said st-ud shafts being positioned at the midpoint of theprimary member and the other two of said stud shafts being positionedadjacent each of the ends of the primary member. Mounted on each of thestud shafts is a roller 68 which supports a secondary member 71,illustratively a channel beam of length substantially equal to that ofthe primary member 58.

As shown in Fig. 4, the secondary member 71 in cross section has avertical side wall 72 and opposed parallel top and bottom walls 73 and74. The top wall 73 is of width substantially equal to the Width of theprimary member 58 and is slightly spaced therefrom as at 75, said topand bottom walls having flanges 76 which, together with the side wall 72define a track for the rollers 68.

The top Walls '73 of the secondary members 72 at each end of theconveyor are inclined upwardly as shown in Fig. 4 to prevent theautomobile from rolling ofi the conveyor even if its brakes are notlocked, and the top walls of the intervening secondary members are in ahorizontal plane.

Means are provided to effect movement of the secondary members 71 withrespect to the primary members 58 upon movement of the beam 39 on therollers 37. To this end, as shown in Fig. 4, a rack 81 is secured to thebottom wall 74 of each of the secondary members 71, each of said racksbeing engaged by a gear 82 which extends through an associated slot 83in the cross piece 65 of each of the primary members 58.

The gears 82 are secured to a shaft 84 that extends the length of thebeam 39 through openings 85 in each of the pairs of web plates 61 as isshown in Figs. 4 and 13, each of said gears 82 being positioned betweenan associated pair of web plates and secured to the shaft as by setscrew 86.

The ends of the shaft 84 extend through bearings 87 secured to the webplates 61 adjacent each of the ends 47 of the beam 39 and each of theshaft ends has secured thereto a gear 88 that meshes with an associatedrack 89 mounted on the inwardly extending horizontal leg 91 of an anglebeam 92 that is secured to the beam 32 and extends the length thereof.

Means are provided to effect movement of the conveyor 38 from thecentral position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 toward and away from the shelves14.

To this end, each of the beams 25 inwardly of the supports 31 mounts apair of supports 94 (Figs. 5 and 6) and a rail 95 (Fig. l) which is oflength substantially the same as that of beam 32. is secured to eachpair of transversely aligned supports 94, said rails being locatedbeneath the beam 39 as is clearly shown in Fig. 6.

Each of the rails 95 has an inwardly extending flange 96 which mount amovable frame 97. As shown in Figs. 1 and 7, the frame 97 comprises apair of spaced parallel cross beams 98, 99 formed from inverted U-shapedmembers and extending at right angles to the elongating units 57. Theends of the cross beams which are closed, are joined by parallel beams100, 101 so that the frame will form an integral rectangular unit.

Extending from each end of the beams 98, 99 is a pair of spacedhorizontal brackets 102 between each of which is rotatably mounted on avertical axis a roller 103 which has flanges that straddle the flanges96 on the rails 95. Thus, the frame 97 is supported beneath the beam 39in manner such that it may freely move along the rails 95.

Afiixed as by welding, as shown in Fig. 8, to the cross beams 98, 99respectively, are cross heads 105, 106, illustratively inverted U-shapedmembers. The members 105, 106 extend from the left member 100,terminating short of the right member 101 as is clearly shown in Fig. 9.The opposed inner walls 107 of members 105 and 106 taper inwardly as at108 and each has an opening 109 therethrough, clearly shown in Fig. 9,the purpose of which will be hereinafter described.

Positioned between and secured to the beams 25 and centrally locatedtherealong is a housing 111 which has a vertical shaft 112 risingtherefrom as is clearly shown in Fig. 8. Aflixed to shaft 112 as bykeying at 113 is a worm gear 114 engaged by a worm 115 driven by a motorM also mounted between beams 25. The housing 111 desirably has sleeves116 and 117 rigid therewith through which the shaft 112 extends,suitable bearings 118 being positioned in said sleeves rotatably tomount the shaft 112. Idly mounted on the shaft 112 between the sleeves116 and 117 is a stop ring member V119 which has an arcuate notch 121 inits periphery, illustratively occupying 100 degrees of arc. The wormgear 114 has on its upper surface a dog 122 which may be formed integraltherewith and which illustratively occupies 30 degrees of arc. The dog122 is positioned in the arcuate notch 121 in the stop ring 119 as isclearly shown in Fig. 7. ,Affixed to the upper end of shaft 112extending beyond the upper bearing 118 in sleeve 117 is a crank bar 123,the latter illustratively having a central opening 124 therein throughwhich the shaft 112 extends, said crank bar 123 being secured to theshaft 112 as by keying. The crank bar 123 is'so positioned on the shaft112 that it will extend at right angles to the center line of the dog122 rigid with the worm gear 114 as is clearly shown in Fig. 7. With thecrank bar 123 so positioned, it will also extend at right angles to adog 125 aflixed as by welding to the sleeve 117 and diametricallyopposed to the dog 122 on the gear 114. The dog 125 on the sleeve 117also occupies 30 degrees of are as does a dog 126 aflixed to the ringmember 119 midway between the ends of arcuate notch 121.

Each of the ends 128 and 129 of the crank bar 123 has an opening inwhich is affixed an upstanding pin 131, the upper end of whichillustratively mounts a roller 132 which is positioned between the innerand outer walls 107, 133 of each of the cross heads 105, 106 as isclearly shown in Fig. 8.

Means are provided operatively to connect the frame 97 to the beam 39.To this end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6 a cross bar 135 extendstransversely across the beams 98, '99 midway between the ends thereofand is secured thereto, said cross bar having an upstanding pin 136 atthe center thereof. Pivotally mounted on pin 136 is a lever 137, thelength of the lever on one side of the pin illustratively being twicethat on the other side thereof.

As shown in Fig. 6, the end 138 of the longer portion of the lever has adepending stud shaft 139 on which a roller 141 is mounted, said rollerriding in a track defined by upstanding legs of a U-shaped channelsection 142 centrally located on bars 143 extending transversely acrossbeams '25 and secured thereto.

The end 144 of the shorter portion of lever 137 has as upstanding studshaft 145 on which a roller 146 is the rollers 68. v With the gears 82and 88 having the same diameter,

mounted, said roller riding in a track defined by the depending legs ofa U-shaped channel section 147 secured to the beam 39 as shown in Figs.6 and 13.

In the operation of the equipment with the elevator say at the groundfloor level, represented, for example, by the lowermost shelves 14, asshown in Fig. 2, an automobile is driven at right angles to the beams 16so that its front and rear wheels will rest on such beams. Thereupon,with the elevator positioned sothat the top surfaces of secondarymembers 71 are slightly below the level of the horizontal legs 18 ofbeams 16, the worm is driven by the associated drive motor M to rotateworm gear 114 in say a counterclockwise direction from the,positionshown in Fig. 7. This will cause rotation of the shaft 112 and thecrankbar 123 thereon in a similar direction. As the shaft 112 isgrotated in acounterclockwise direction, the roller 132 on pin 131 at the end 128 ofcrank bar 123 will react against the side wall 107 of cross head 105tending to move the frame 97 in a downward direction from the positionshown in Fig. 7, or to the left refer-ring to Fig. 2, the rollers 103riding along flanges 96 (Fig. 5). As the frame 97 so moves, inasmuch astheend 129 of the crank bar 123 will also move in a counterclockwisedirection, the roller 132 on pin 131 carried thereby will be movedthrough opening 109 in wall 107 so that such pin is clear of said crosshead, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 7, the curved portion 108 of theside wall 107 of cross head 106 providing clearance forthe roller forunobstructed movement thereof.

With continued rotation of the crank bar 123, the rate of travel of theframe 97 will increase rapidly and correspondingly decrease when thecrank bar has made 180 degree rotation to effectively provide asinusoidal rate of travel. Thus, there will be little movement impartedto the frame at the beginning and end of such 180 degree travel. As thecrank bar 123 moves through an 180 degree arc, by reason of the downwardmovement of the frame 97 from the position shown in Fig. 7, the roller132 on pin 131 at the end 129 of the crank bar 123 will pass through thespace 150 defined between the end of the cross head105 and the rightmember 101 so that it is completely clear of the cross head 105.

As the end 138 of lever 137, which is guided by trac section 142, isrestrained from transverse movement with respect to beams 25 and canonly move in direction parallel thereto, due to the movement of frame97, above described, the lever 137 which is pivoted on pin 136 willrotate in a counterclockwise direction from the neutral position shownin Fig. 1. As a result, the end 144 of lever 137 which is guided bytrack section 147 mounted on beam 39 will react against said tracksection.

This force will cause the beam 39, which through beams 52 rides onrollers 37 supported by the base structure 24, to move laterally fromthe neutral position shown or downward, referring to Fig. l, the rollers141, 146 at the ends of the lever 137 riding along the associated tracksections 142, 147 during such movement.

Due to the arrangement of the lever 137 on the frame 97, with the pin136 illustratively located sothat the distance of the pin 136 fromroller 146 is one-third the length of lever 137, the lateral movement'ofbeam 39 is one and one-half times the stroke of the frame 97 due to therotation of crank 123.

As the beam 39 and associated beams 52 are moved on rollers 37, thegears 88 will ride along fixed rack 89 thereby causing rotation of saidgears and the shaft 84 to which they are aflixed. Rotation of shaft 84will in turn cause rotation of the gears 82 afiixed thereto, to drivethe racks 81 which they engage to effect outward movement of thesecondary members 71 which ride on it is apparent that the secondarymembers will-move twice as fast as the primary members carried by beam39.

The frame 97 and the lever 137 are designed to move the beam 39outwardly an amount such that the beams 52 are supported by the roller37 at one end of beam 32 as well as the central roller 37, and thesecondary members are supported by the rollers 68 at one end of theprimary member as well as by the central roller 68. Thus, the weight ofthe automobile 13 will be supported by the rollers which are spacedsufiiciently to greatly reduce the cantilever load.

When the secondary members 71 are fully extended, which will occur whenthe crank bar 123 is rotated 180 degrees in a counterclockwise directionfrom. the full line position shown in Fig. 7, a limit switch may beprovided to de-energize the motor M driving shaft 112. As the rate ofmovement of the frame 97 at such time is extremely slight, there wouldbe little chance for the crank bar 123 to move further than 180 degreesand even if there was any slight additional travel of the crank bar 123this would have no harmful effect as it only tends to retract theconveyor slightly from its fully extended position.

In the remote contingency that the limit switch (not shown) should cutoff erroneously when the pin 131 at the end 128 of crank bar 123 wasaligned with opening 109 in cross head 105, which would be in a positionseveral degrees further in a counterclockwise direction from thatillustratively shown in Fig. 12, due to the inertia tending to move theframe 97 upwardly at such time due to such over-travel, the frame 97 maymove past the pin 131 so that both of the pins 131 would be clear of theassociated cross heads, rather than the single pin 131 associated withcross head 106 which is required. In such a contingency the equipmentwould have to be manually reset. To prevent this over-travel, which isunlikely, the dogs 122, 125 and 126 and the stop ring member 119 areprovided.

Thus, referring to Fig. 7, when the crank bar 123 initially starts itsmovement, the dog 122 carried by worm gear 114 will abut against the end171 of the arcuate notch 121 thereupon causing the ring member 119 torotate in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in Fig.7.

As the dog 125 mounted on the bushing 117 affixed to the housing isinitially diametrically opposed to the dog 122 carried by the worm gear114, as previously described, and as both of such dogs occupy 30 degreesof arc. it is apparent that the leading edge 172 of dog 122 whichengages the end 171 of the arcuate notch 121, which occupies 100 degreesof arc, will become aligned with the edge 173 of the dog 125 afiixed tothe bushing when the Worm gear 114 has rotated 150 degrees. Inasmuch asthe arcuate notch 121 occupies 100 degrees of arc and the dog 12%?carried by the ring member 119 occupies 30 degrees of arc, the edge 171of the notch 121 is spaced from the edge 174 of dog 126 by an angle of35 degrees. Consequently, the worm gear 114 will be able to rotate 35degrees further before the dog 126 abuts against the fixed dog 125 torestrain further rotation of the worm gear 114.

This restraint of movement after 185 degrees rotation of the crank bar123 will prevent movement of the pin 131 carried by end 1.28 thereof toa position in which it is in alignment with the opening 109 in crosshead 105. Hence, there is no likelihood of sufiicient overtravel of theframe 97 as previously described to cause the pin 131 carried by end 128of crank bar 123 to be moved out of the cross head 105 which wouldinterfere with subsequent operation of the equipment and require manualresetting thereon.

At this time, through appropriate controls, the elevator may he raisedslightly to cause the outstanding secondary members 71 to risevertically to lift the automobile from the beams 16.

Thereupon, the motor driving shaft 112 is energized in reverse directionso that the shaft 112 will rotate in a clockwise direction as will thecrank bar 123. As the result of such movement, inasmuch as the pin 131carried by the end 128 of the crank bar 123 is still between the walls107 and 133 of the cross head 105, it will react against the wall 133tending to move the frame in an upward direction from the position shownin Fig. 12. This movement of the frame is also sinusoidal in effectbeing relatively slow at the beginning and end of the 180 degreerotation of the crank bar 123. As the frame 97 moves upwardly, the pin131 carried by the end 129 of the crank bar 123 will move through theopening 150 between the end of the cross head and the right cross member101 and through opening 109 in wall 107 of cross head 106 to again bepositioned between the side walls 107 and 133 of cross head 106 as shownin Fig. 7.

As the result of the movement of frame 97 back to the neutral positionshown in Fig. 1, through the action of lever 137, the conveyor 38 willalso be retracted.

The automobile having thus been positioned on the conveyor 38 mounted onthe elevator 23 can be raised to a desired floor and deposited into astall on either side of the elevator shaft 19.

To illustrate the complete operation of the equipment, it will beassumed that the automobile is to be deposited into a stall on the rightside of the shaft 19. To this end, with the frame 97 in the neutralposition, shown in Fig. 7, and with the elevator at a level such thatthe tops of secondary members 71 are slightly above the top level of thebeams 16 of the right stall, the motor M is energized to drive the shaft112 in a clockwise direction. Consequently, the roller 132 on pin 131 atthe end 129 of crank bar 123 will react against the side wall 107 ofcross head 106 to move the frame 97 up wardly from the position shown inFigs. 1 and 7 or to the right, referring to Fig. 2.

As a result, through the drive imparted to beam 39 by lever 137, thebeam 37 will move to the right and the secondary members 71 carrying theautomobile 13 will be extended between and above the beams 16 of thestall.

The elevator is then lowered slightly to cause the members 71 also to belowered and thus deposit the automobile on beams 16. The operation ofthe conveyor moving in this direction and back to neutral positioncorresponds to the operation previously described and hence will not berepeated.

When the worm gear 114 moves in a clockwise direction, it will also move150 degrees before the edge 172' of dog 122 thereon is aligned with theedge 173' of dog 125 affixed to the sleeve 117. Thereupon, the ringmember 119 will move 35 degrees additionally before the dog 126 thereonabuts against dog 125 to restrain further movement of the Worm gear 114to prevent the pin 131 at end 129 of crank bar 123 moving clear of crosshead 106 as previously described with respect to cross head 105.

In the embodiment previously described, the maximum lateral movement ofthe conveyor 38 is limited in that the beams 52 must be supported by atleast two of the rollers 37; i.e., the central roller 37 and the roller37 at an end of beam 32. In addition, the secondary members 71 must alsobe supported by at least two of the rollers 68.

In order to provide for further extension of the conveyor 38, say inorder to provide additional space at the drive-in level to provide awider walk for the passenger or attendant driving the car into thebottom-most stall at the drive in level for subsequent removal to ahigher stall, the embodiment shown in Figs. 14 and 15 is provided.

This embodiment is substantially identical to the embodiment shown inFigs. 1 to 13 and corresponding elements have the same referencenumerals primed.

Referring to Fig. 15, the stalls are identical to those shown in Fig. 2except that the bottom-most stall at the drive-in level has a walk 170inwardly thereof which is of height such that the beam 39' may movethereover.

The beam 39 (Fig. 14) is of greater Width than the beam 39 and carriestwo shafts 84 each having a gear 82 which meshes with rack 81, saidshafts 84 each having a gear 88, 88" secured thereto, which ride on rack89' and engage idler gear 171 which is spaced from said rack. Theprimary member 58 rotatably mounts four rollers 68', one at each end ofthe primary member and two spaced respectively on each side of thecenter of said prim-ary member 58.

In addition, the beam 32 also mounts four rollers 37 alignedrespectively with the rollers 68.

To provide for additional lateral movement of the conveyor 38, in theembodiment of Figs. 14 and 15, the

beams 98, 99 of the frame 37 may be spaced wider apart than as shown inFig. l with a longer crank bar 123, or the lever 137 may be of greaterlength. In addition, lateral movement of the conveyor 38 can be greaterin one direction than the other by changing the position along itslength at which the crank bar 123 is connected to shaft 112.

Due to the greater stroke imparted .to the beam 39 it will move over thewalk 170 shown in Fig. 15. As a result the gear 81" will move past theend of rack 89'. However, as gear 81' is still engaging the rack 89,drive will still be imparted thereby to the secondary members throughidler gear .171 for complete extension thereof.

Although one of the pair of central rollers 37, 68' will move past theend of beam 52' and primary member 58' respectively, the beams 52' andthe primary member 58' will still be supported by the other of the pairof central rollers 37, 68' as well as the rollers 37 and 68 at the endof beam 52' and the primary member 58.

By reason of the bi-sinusoidal movement imparted to the frame 97 by thedrive mechanism above described, the drive mechanism may be relativelycompact, thereby cutting down the size of the installation and inaddition, as the conveyor, when retracted onto the elevator, will havevery little speed, it is not likely to overshoot and extend sufficientlybeyond the edge of the elevator so as to interfere with verticalmovement thereof. Any slight overshoot is adequately taken care of bythe clearance provided between the inner ends of the stalls and theadjacent edges of the elevator. If desired, a relatively simple brakemechanism could be used to immediately restrain rotation of the shaft112 upon de-energization of the motor M, for since the rate of movementof the frame is relatively slow at such time, little braking effect isrequired. The bi-sinusoidal arrangement inherently provides both abraking action and a static brake.

It is also to be noted that as the rate of movement of the secondarymembers 71 with respect to the primary members 58 may be varieddepending upon the relative diameters of the gears 82 and 88, thesecondary member 71 may be fully extended between the beams 16 of thestall while the beams 58 have only partially extended therebetween. As aresult, less heavy structure may extend outwardly from the elevator sothat the size and weight of the beams 58 may be held to a minimum.

As the secondary members 71 are individually extended and retracted,they require no connection therebetween and hence the shelves formingthe floors of the stalls may be connected at their inner ends in themanner described, eliminating the need for heavy supporting structurewhich would be required if the extending members of the conveyor werejoined, as such connection between the members 71 would require theshelves to be formed only of spaced beams without transverse support attheir inner ends for movement of the conveyor bers 71 therebetween.

Although the equipment has been illustratively shown and described withrespect to its application in parking of automobiles, it is of course tobe understood that it could be used to transfer crates, boxes,merchandise and the like and the use of the equipment for this purposeis within the scope of the invention.

It is further to be understood that althougha plurality of verticallyaligned stalls are shown, the equipment could be used on a single levelinstallation. In such case the elevator could be mounted as to move atright angles to the stalls into transverse alignment therewith.

In addition, an elevator capable of movement at right angles to thestalls could also be used in conjunction with a plurality of verticallyaligned stalls so that a single elevator would be sufiicient.

As the control mechanism for automatically operating the equipment intimed sequence forms no part of this invention and would be obvious toone skilled in the art, it has not been described.

As many changes could be made in the above equipment, and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be madewithout departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as, new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. 'An installation for transferring automobiles, comprising a verticalsupporting structure, a horizontal platform comprising a plurality ofparallel alternating troughs and crests extending outwardly from saidsupport, means extending transversely across said platformsupporting thelatter near its outer end, a second horizontal platform, means to effectvertical movement of said second platform with respect to said firstplatform, a conveyor mounted on said second platform, said conveyor comprising a plurality of spaced parallel horizontal members, each of saidmembers including an elongated primary member and an elongated secondarymember, both adapted to be longitudinally aligned with one of saidtroughs, the outer ends of said horizontal members being injuxtaposition with the outer end of an associated trough whenlongitudinally aligned therewith, means interconnecting said primarymembers adjacent their central portion to form a rigid assembly, meansslidably mounting said assembly on said second platform, means slidablymounting said secondary members on the associated primary member formovement longitudinally with respect thereto to extend outward thereof,means to retain the inns? end of each of said secondary members inengagement with the end of the associated primary member when saidsecondary member has been extended, means to effect movement of saidrigid assembly and drive means associated with each of said secondary.members and controlled by the movement of said assembly to effectsimultaneous individual horizontal movement thereof when said rigidassembly is moved, whereby each of the secondary members and a portionof the associated primary member will be moved 'into an associatedtrough.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, in which said first platformcomprises a plurality of spaced parallel beams that define said troughsand crests, and a transverse member is secured to the undersurface ofsaid beams near their outer ends.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1, in which the meansinterconnecting said primary members comprises a beam, drive means areprovided controlled by the movement of said beam to actuate theplurality of drive means associated respectively with said secondarymembers, said drive means comprising a drive shaft extendingtransversely with respect to said horizontal members, means to rotatesaid drive shaft upon movement of said connected horizontal members, aplurality of gears mounted on said shaft and associated respectivelywith said secondary members, a rack secured to each of said secondarymembers and engaged by the associated gear, whereby upon movement ofsaid beam and rotation of said drive shaft, the gears thereon willrotate to drive the associated secondary member.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3, in which the means to rotatesaid drive shaft comprises a gear mounted thereon and a rack secured tosaid second platform and engaged by said gear.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which two transverselyaligned vertical columns of first platforms are provided, arranged withsaid first platforms transversely aligned and with the troughs andcrests of the respective pairs of transversely aligned platformslongitudinally aligned, the space between said columns defining anelevator shaft, said second platform is an elevator positioned in saidshaft and movable vertically into substantially transverse alignmentwith pairs of transversely aligned platforms, said conveyor beingmovable from a central position on said second platform toward and awayfrom either of the platforms of said pair.

6. The combination set forth in claim 1, in which a pair of spacedtransversely aligned first platforms are provided having the troughs andcrests of the respective platforms longitudinally aligned, said secondplatform is positioned in the space between said stalls, the meansinterconnecting said primary members comprises a beam extendingcentrally across said horizontal members a pair of beams are affixed attheir mid points, respectively, to the ends of said conveyor beam andextending at right angles thereto and means secured to said secondplatform slidably mounting said pair of beams for movement on saidsecond platform in direction parallel to the length of the troughs froma central position on said second platform toward and away from eitherof the platforms of said pair.

7. The combination set forth in claim 6, in which the means on saidsecond platform slidably mounting said pair of beams and the meansslidably mounting the secondary members with respect to an associatedprimary member, each comprises a set of at least three rollersassociated with each of said beams and with each secondary member, oneof the rollers of each set, when the connected members are in centralposition, supporting the associated beam and the secondary member at itscentral portion, and the other two ro'llers of each set supporting theends of the associated beam and the secondary member, the drive meanscomprises a drive shaft extending along said conveyor beam, a drive gearaffixed to said shaft, a rack secured to said second platform andengaged by said gear, said rack extending parallel to said pair ofbeams, a plurality of gears mounted on said shaft and associatedrespectively with said secondary members, a rack secured to each of saidsecondary members and engaged by the associated gear of said plurality,whereby upon movement of said connected primary members and rotation ofsaid drive shaft, the plurality of gears thereon will rotate to drivethe associated secondary member.

8. The combination set forth in claim 6, in which the means on saidsecond platform slidably mounting said pair of beams and the meansslidably mounting the secondarymembers with respect to an associatedprimary member, each comprises a set of at least four rollers associatedwith each of said beams and with each secondary member, two of therollers of each set, when the connected members are in central position,supporting the associated beam and the secondary member on each side ofits central portion, and the other two rollers of each set supportingthe ends of the associated beam and the secondary member, the drivemeans comprises a pair of parallel drive shafts extending along saidconveyor beam, a drive gear affixed to each of said shafts, an idlergear between said drive gears and engaging the latter, a rack secured tosaid second platform and engaged by said drive gears, said idler gearbeing spaced from said rack, said rack extending parallel to said pairof beams, a plurality of gears mounted on each of said shafts andassociated respectively with said secondary members, a rack secured toeach of said secondary members and engaged by the associated gear ofsaid plurality, whereby upon movement of said connected primary membersand rotation of said drive shafts, the plurality of gears thereon willrotate to drive the associated secondary member.

9. The combination set forth in claim 1, in which the meansinterconnecting said primary members comprises a beam, extendstransversely across said primary members, means slidably mounting thebeam on said platform for movement in the same direction as saidsecondary members, a pair of spaced parallel tracks mounted on saidplatform and extending at right angles to said beam and positionedbeneath the latter, a frame slidably mounted on said tracks, said framehaving a pair of spaced parallel members extending at right angles tosaid tracks, a vertical drive shaft centrally located on said platformbetween said tracks, a crank bar mounted on said shaft at right anglesthereto, a pair of drive pins associated respectively with said pair ofparallel members and adapted to react thereagainst upon rotation of saidcrank bar to effect movement of said frame, means controlled by themovement of said frame to effect movement of said beam on its slidablemount, and means actuated by movement of said beam to actuate said drivemeansv 10. The combination set forth in claim 9, in which the means toeffect movement of said beam comprises a lever pivoted between its endson a vertical axis secured to said frame, a pair of track sections, onebeing secured to said platform and the other to said beam, and means onthe ends of said lever riding along the respective track sections andreacting thereagainst.

References (Zited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,742,205 Fuqua Jan. 7, 1930 1,969,419 Martin Aug. 7, 1934 2,168,527Iversen Aug. 8, 1939 2,775,128 Young Dec. 25, 1956 2,838,186Alimanestiano June 10, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 165,872 Australia July 23,1953

